Rodriguez is founding pastor of Third Day Worship Centers and President of
the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.


Latino Trends:
The 21st Century Good Samaritans

Who is my neighbor? This query introduced in the Parable of The Good
Samaritan exemplifies the very debate in the heart of the Ethnic Church and
the primary challenge to the Evangelical body at large. As we continue to thread
the Hispanic American Evangelical Narrative, we find ourselves negotiating a
historical juxtaposition between the preservation of our cultures and the building
of His Kingdom. After 100 years of exponential growth in the Latino Church,
Hispanic Pastors and leaders find ourselves struggling to define a new
missiological baseline. Here is the primary question in the Latino Church, do
we exist to preserve an ethnocentric ideology or do we focus on intentional
building of the Big K which is the Kingdom of God? Hence, the Latino Church
is strategically and prophetically situated to provide leadership to the collective Evangelical church in America by both incorporating the tenants of the Good
Samaritan Parable and nullifying the MYSPACE.COM version of Christianity.

The Latino, African- American, Anglo and other ethnic segments of the church
must go beyond the myspace.com mindset. Pastor Nick Garza, an Assemblies of
God Pastor in Sacramento, Ca. sees the functional structure of this web site as the
anti-thesis to successful biblical outreach. "MySpace.com is a world wide internet
phenomenon because it enables the subscriber to determine who has access to
his/her profile, pictures, stories and information. In other words, unless you have
been given access, you can't come in. Only my friends, who share my interests are
granted access. All granted of course if you initially become a Friend of Tom (Tom
being one of the co-founders of this virtual social networking site). Accordingly, the Church has operated under a Myspace.com model. As long as Christ is our default
friend, we are somehow allowed to build our own space with limited access to
include only those who we know or permit.

Moreover, Garza added "Although I believe a need exists for ethnic churches
to serve the various constituencies in our communities, we must never see the preservation of the ethnicity, language or culture as the primary purpose of the
local congregation. We must be readily accessible to all our neighbors. Recently,
I heard a Hispanic denominational leader warn Pastors and leaders to be careful
in starting English speaking services because it may result in the loss of our
heritage and culture. This sort of statement exemplifies the limited thinking that
hinders cross threading of the collective narrative and fosters an atmosphere of
segregation and competitiveness."

According to Dr. Albert Reyes, National Hispanic Baptist Leader, the Latino Church personifies the 21st century Good Samaritan. "Samaritans were a mixed breed. Just
as Latinos are mixes of European, Indian and Afro American cultures. Samaritans
were rejected because of their make up. We see our diversity as strength. We can
reach out to Anglo, Asian, Black, and other ethnicities because racially and culturally,
our fabric reflects the various threads. Latino Evangelicals have a prophetic calling
to build bridges between the various communities and facilitate a fruitful ministry
of reconciliation."

The Good Samaritan parable not only challenges leaders to ask "Who is my
neighbor?", but embedded in the parable is the question" How much am I willing
to invest"? The Good Samaritan provided his oil, wine, donkey, silver and even a commitment for future expenses to be reimbursed. "As a Latina Pastor, I got tired
of limiting my ministry to one class, group or segment of our community. The current trend in the Latino church is to provide ministry, services and even starting satellite churches where there are no or very few Latinos. We want to reach out to all. Our desire to reach out must be accompanied by the allocation of all resources including financial, time and manpower", stated Rev. Reina Olmeda, Senior Pastor of Third
Day Worship Center in Allentown, Pa. Olmeda added that the Church has a biblical mandate to walk the path of transformational ministry and identify the needs
regardless of the size. "It is important to note that the Samaritans were rejected because of their ethnic makeup. What made the Samaritan Good was not what he
had or who he was but rather how he responded to the needs of others. Today, we
have great facilities, strategic programs and various resources, now it's time to pour
it out and bandage the wounds of our neighbors.

Historically, in response to the original question, "Who is my neighbor", the Latino
church responded by identifying those in the Latino community. That erroneous
response limited the outreach and created walls of segregation between the Hispanic
Church and others. Today, we must ask this question by bringing clarity to its original
intent. "Who is my neighbor?" in essence asks, who is my brother, sister, customer, market, potential partner, collaborator, target, and mission? In reality, this question reverberates on a constant base within the confines of our Christian walk and really asks, who do I want to heal, restore, love and embrace? Before, the Latino Evangelical Church, particularly the Latino Pentecostal church, focused exclusively on personal piety, Holiness and Escapism. For the first time, the Latino Church is providing a
viable response to the question raised in Luke Chapter 10. Who is neighbor? My neighbor is the poor and the rich, the black and the white, the urban and suburban,
the city and the rural. Who is my neighbor? My neighbor is the children of Darfur
and those suffering with Aids in Africa. Who is my neighbor? My neighbors are the
victims of Katrina and the Sunnis and Shiites of the Middle East.

Our response as Christian leaders to this query speaks more about who we are than who will reach out to. In essence, "who is my neighbor?" is actually questioning, not who are those around me, but rather who am I in the midst of a lost and dying world.

For Interviews and additional information, please contact Maritza Ramirez, NHCLC Marketing and Media Director, at 916-919-7476. www.hispanicevangelicals.com
and hispanicchurch@aol.com


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